In one of our
earliest Theosophical books it was written that there are three truths which
are absolute and cannot be lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech.
They are as great as life itself, and yet as simple as the simplest mind of
man. I can hardly do better than paraphrase these for the greatest of my
general principles.

I will then
give some corollaries which follow naturally from them, and then, thirdly, some
of the more prominent of the advantageous results which

necessarily
attend this definite knowledge. Having thus outlined the scheme in tabular
form, I will take it up point by point, and endeavour to offer such elementary
explanations as come within the scope of this little introductory book.

1. God
exists, and He is good. He is the great life-giver who dwells within us and
without us, is undying and eternally beneficent. He is not heard,

nor seen, nor
touched, yet is perceived by the man who desires perception.

2. Man is
immortal, and his future is one whose glory and splendour have no limit.

3. A Divine
law of absolute justice rules the world, so that each man is in truth his own
judge, the dispenser of glory or gloom to himself, the decreer

of his life,
his reward, his punishment.

To each of
these great truths are attached certain others, subsidiary and explanatory.

From the
first of them it follows:-

1. That, in
spite of appearance, all things are definitely and intelligently moving
together for good; that all circumstances, however untoward they may seem, are
in reality exactly what are needed; that everything around us tends, not to
hinder us, but to help us, if it is only understood.

2.That since
the whole scheme thus tends to man’s benefit, clearly it is his duty to learn
to understand it.

3That when he
thus understands it, it is also his duty intelligently to co-operate in this
scheme.

From the
second great truth it follows:-

1.That the
true man is a soul, and that this body is only an appanage.

2.That he
must therefore, regard everything from the standpoint of the soul, and that in
every case when an internal struggle takes place he must

realise his
identity with the higher and not with the lower.

3.That what
we commonly call his life is only one day in his true and larger life.

4.That death
is a matter of far less importance than is usually supposed, since it is by no means
the end of life, but merely the passage from one stage of it to another.

5.That man
has an immense evolution behind him, the study of which is most fascinating,
interesting and instructive.

6.That he has
also a splendid evolution before him, the study of which will be even more
fascinating and instructive.

7.That there
is an absolute certainty of final attainment for every human soul, no matter
how far he may have seemed to have strayed from the path of evolution.

From the
third great truth it follows:-

1.That every
thought, word, or action produces its definite result – not a reward or a
punishment imposed from without, but a result inherent in the action itself,
definitely connected with it in the relation of cause and effect, these being
really but two inseparable parts of one whole.

2.That it is
both the duty and interest of man to study this divine law closely, so that he
will be able to adapt himself to it and to use it, as we use other great laws
of nature.

3.That it is
necessary for man to attain perfect control over himself, so that he may guide
his life intelligently in accordance with this law.